"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."
Oscar Levant

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Terrorists in Our Midst

For John, BLUF: And the Dep't of Homeland Security worries about the Tea Party types. Nothing to see here; just move along.

The good news is that the terrorist organization, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has signed a peace agreement with the Philippine Government. For a number of years now we have had US Special Forces in the Philippines helping fight the MILF. Of course, Abu Sayyaf is still out there, using terror as a way of creating an Iranian like theocracy in the Southern Philippines—and "involved in criminal activities, including kidnapping, rape, child sexual assault, drive-by shooting, extortion, and drug trafficking."

The bad news is that Abu Sayyaf is just one of a number of terrorist groups, focused on their local objectives, but trying to achieve them by attacking US targets overseas and here in the United States. So al Qaeda, diminished as it may be, is still lurking out there. There was even a recent story about a young man, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, who is reported to have signed up for the Army so he could pull another internal attack, like Fort Hood.

The even worse thing is that the US Attorneys, aided by the FBI, can be in danger of overcharging folks accused of crimes and that is not a good thing. As Law Professor Glenn Reynolds notes in his paper, Ham Sandwhich Nation, there are too many laws and it is just if they notice you.

But, maybe the worst thing is that we have someone in the California Legislature who was involved in facilitating terrorism, who was selling guns for millions of dollars, and no one cares. Well, almost no one. Who else is out there?